ORIGINAL 1950 Johnson Smith & Co. Novelties Catalog

with 496 heavily illustrated pages

On the internet we found that “Johnson Smith Company (Johnson Smith & Co.) was a mail-order business established in 1914 by Alfred Johnson Smith that sold novelty items and gag gifts such as miniature cameras, invisible ink, x-ray goggles, whoopee cushions, fake vomit, and joy buzzers. Founded in Chicago, the company relocated to Racine, Wisconsin in 1923, to Detroit in the late 1930s, then to Bradenton, Florida in 1986.”

This is an original example of the 1950 Johnson Smith & Co. Mammoth New Catalog of 7000 Novelties. The 75+ year old 5-⅛ x 7-⅛ inch, ¾ inch thick catalog has 496 heavily illustrated pages.

The front cover highlights new items such as BB and pen shooters, squirt flowers, a midget camera, rubber and skull masks. Items offered for sale in the catalog range from military emblem tie slides, lapel pins and rings, to a huge variety of rings (with skulls and crossbones, Mexican motifs and cowboy saddles, snake eyes, Chinese symbols), rabbit foot and boxing glove charms, Dick Tracy wrist radios, watches and clocks, cameras, pin up girl pictures, 3D viewers, enlargers and projectors, cigarette lighters, ashtrays (in the shape of cowboy hats, frying pans, toilets and skulls), pocket calculators, pantographs, novelty key rings, model airplanes (including a Spitfire, Super Fortress and Lockheed P-80 Jet), midget race cars, ships in a bottle, electric trains, model toy steam turbines, Shure army microphones, musical instruments, whistles and siren screamers, comic motto buttons, ….

…. Lone Ranger mechanical cowboy banks, wooden and nail puzzles, giant comical thumbs (for hitch hikers), squirt flowers and bowties, fake snakes and mystery running mice, hot pepper candy and gum, itching and sneezing powder, black eye jokes, imitation fake teeth, gazing balls, masks, character wigs, fake beards, push puppets and dancing skeletons, varsity emblems, Alcatraz and Sing Sing prison pennants, cottage weather forecasters, gyroscope tops, Vacutex blackhead removers, padlocks, live mouse traps, bicycle accessories, pistol flashlights, electrically lighted bait and fish plugs, swimming goggles, metal exercisers, Red Rider air rifles, Buck Rogers atomic pistols, water pistols, archery sets and boomerangs, miniature railroad sets, and many life-like masks.

Books include Gene Autry cowboy and mountain ballad song books, harmonica song books, minstrel show guides, as well as instruction books for tap and ballroom dancing, telling jokes, courtship and marriage, foreign languages, dog training, pickling, cooking and bar tending, and even books about religion, freemasonry and hypnotism.

Our photos show the actual 1950 Johnson Smith & Co. novelties catalog we offer for sale. It was used but not abused, and only has minor wear to the spine and covers. The interior pages are in very good condition, and the catalog has no writing and no odor.

PLEASE NOTE: we also have an original example of the 1929 Johnson Smith & Co. novelties catalog in our eBay store.

Have a look at other antique and collectible catalogs in our eBay store!

We have been selling rare books and unusual collectibles for more than forty-five years (25+ years on eBay!) and have received over 6400 positive feedback responses from satisfied customers!

CONDITION: exactly as shown, no odor.

QUESTIONS: we do not accept returns so if you have any questions about this original antique American novelties catalog, be sure to ask before you click the Buy It Now button, NOT after you have purchased the item. You are responsible for reading the full item description, including shipping costs and accepted payment methods.

SHIPPING: this lot will be shipped in a sturdy package and we are happy to combine shipping of multiple purchases.  We do not charge a handling fee and will refund overpayment of postage as soon as a combined order has been shipped.

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